The Lotus Elise is a two seater, rear-wheel drive, mid-engined roadster conceived back in 1994 and first released in 1996 by Lotus Cars. The car features a hand-finished fibreglass body shell and bonded extruded aluminium chassis providing a rigid suspension platform, whilst reducing weight and costs. The Elise is capable of speeds up to 150 mph and was named after Elisa, the granddaughter of the Lotus chairman at the time. The Elise has received much critical acclaim for its driving experience and performance over the years, for example "Best Driver's Car 2001" Autocar, "Car of the Year 2003" UK Horizons TV, and "Best Sportscar 2004" BBC Top Gear Magazine. The Elise offers exhilarating sports car performance and top-down motoring at affordable prices. Powered by an eager 1.6-litre engine, which produces 134hp and providing supercar performance combined with city car economy.